Watching The Polls

A friend recently sent me an article which detailed a recent Barna Group poll that indicated that the youth of today were increasingly disenamored with the Church. As I scanned through the article, I began to meditate on what I should learn from the poll.

Should churches seek to find a better model? Should they restructure everything that they do and say in order to bring up the favorability rating? Or could it be true that our nation is beginning to enter a state of hardening not seen since Biblical times?

My fear is growing that each new generation is growing more sinful and blinded to the word of God. We may soon reach a point where we will be like the Old Testament prophets who preached their unswerving message to a hard hearted, obstinate and (most importantly) unhearing people.

May God continue to give us a tender heart for the lost, and may He also keep us from negotiating the non-negotiables.

Go - Poetry by D. R. Daniels

Go

Go with His great commission. Go.
Christ said “go” and then said … “Lo
I am with thee always.”
Go in prayer; go to share
Him who is beyond compare;
Go highways and byways.

Go. What is thy constraint?
Warriors were not meant to faint.
Gospel feet go quickly.
Why tarry long beside the road?
Jesus bears they heavy load,
And He it is who lifts thee.

Go. Just like the Saviour said.
He who raised those humble dead.
Now reigns in thee to raise man.
Go ye all into the world,
There where Satan’s darts are hurled.
Christ is greater. Trust Him.

Somewhere good soil awaits the Word.
Seekers must not be deferred.
Christ rewards our toil.
For God will send the latter rains
To soften up the loam again
To grow new wheat from thirsty soil.

Go. March up to the gates of Hell
That open wide its hordes to swell,
And shout “Thy slaves surrender!”
Angels high applaud the show
When saints turn out to face the foe.
What earthly power can hinder?

The Holy Spirit craves the Word
From Genesis to Revelation be heard,
So why tarry we here longer?
Since God brings all His truth to pass
Let fear of man be dead at last;
Our awesome God is stronger.

D. R. Daniels
10/15/1998

Ahmadinejad and the Islamic Apocalypse

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, awaits the coming of the Mahdi, the legendary twelfth Imam who disappeared down a well in 941 AD. Muslims believe that the Mahdi has been hidden, like the sun is hidden by a cloud, until such time that he will be revealed to conquer the world for Islam. Ahmadinejad full heartedly believes that the Mahdi’s return is imminent within the next four years.

The Mahdi is an apocalyptic and messianic figure who symbolizes the return of Islam’s glory years. Many westerners forget that Islam once almost conquered the world if it were not for Charles Martel. The Muslim world has never forgotten though and they covet the day when their religion will be justified in the eyes of the world.

The Koran itself teaches in Surah 4:89 that good Muslims should, “Seize them (infidels) and slay them wherever you may find them.” Surah 9:29 states, “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the last day.” Most Muslims are peaceful, but those that interpret these passages as being unabrogated and literal need little more encouragement to fight for pan-Islamic fascism.

As one of the Mahdi’s faithful, Ahmadinejad hopes to usher in this new world of Islamic domination and to lay vast power at the Mahdi’s disposal; namely a nuclear weapon. In the words of Khomeini who said in 1981, "I say let Iran go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world."

Religious liberals do not begin to understand people who are true believers of any faith. They think that since their own religion is something they may check at the door, that all they really need to do is to discuss issues in rational dialogue. For a true believer, the art of persuasion does not exist. They are on a juggernaut trail to complete their mission for god.

Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to New York is likely only a game of smoke and mirrors as he tries to buy precious time for the development of his nuclear ambitions. A nuclear Iran is a horrible thing to contemplate. Will people continue to choose to ignore his previous words?

· "Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury."

· "Remove Israel before it is too late and save yourself from the fury of regional nations."

· "The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land. As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map."

· "If the West does not support Israel, this regime will be toppled. As it has lost its raison d' tre, Israel will be annihilated."

· "Israel is a tyrannical regime that will one day will be destroyed."

· "Israel is a rotten, dried tree that will be annihilated in one storm."

· "Israel is destined for destruction and will soon disappear"

· Israel is "a contradiction to nature, we foresee its rapid disappearance and destruction."

· “Imam [Khomeini] said: ‘This regime that is occupying Quds [i.e. Jerusalem] must be eliminated from the pages of history.’ This sentence is very wise. The issue of Palestine is not an issue on which we can compromise… Very soon this stain of disgrace [i.e. Israel] will be purged from the centre of the Islamic world – and this is attainable… This will be a short period, and if we pass through it successfully, the process of the elimination of the Zionist regime will be smooth and simple.”

Do we really want this man to have the bomb?

Heritage of Abortion

Within the Old Testament, God condemned the Israelite nation for not defending the weak and powerless. How far away are we from their fate? How long will God endure?

• In 2003, the latest year for which full figures are available, 42 million abortions were carried out around the world

• For every 1,000 women aged between 15 and 44 in 2003, 29 had an abortion, down from 35 in 1997, it said.

• Abortion rates were lowest in Western Europe (12 pregnancy terminations per 1,000 women) but highest in Eastern Europe, where the rate was 44 abortions per 1,000 women. In the United States and Europe, it was 21 per 1,000, while in Asia and Africa, the rate was 29 per 1,000.

• On the basis of the 2003 data, on average 90 percent of women worldwide will have had an abortion before the age of 45, the study calculates.

I pity many of the mothers who abort their children. The grief and knowledge of what they have done often comes late and unrelenting. May they find forgiveness and reconciliation in Christ.

Bill Maher Crashes Creation Museum

I must have missed this one when it first came out. Bill Maher sent a crew to the Answers in Genesis Museum - http://www.thepath.fm/cyberradio/media/.

Bill hates Christ, but who thought he would switch to Allah?

Air America Launches Nationwide Atheism Program

CNSNews.com reports that the liberal talk radio network Air America announced this week it will launch a nationwide show focusing on atheism. The first national show will feature Christopher Hitchens, author of "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything." The Freethought Radio Program, hosted by the co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has been airing on Air America's Madison, Wis., affiliate since April 2006.

On Saturday, Oct. 6, the show will begin airing on 14 other affiliates from Palm Springs, Fla., to Eugene, Ore., and on XM Satellite radio. "You can turn on the radio or TV 24/7 to be preached at," Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the FFRF, said in a statement. "This is one hour a week of the public airwaves that offers an alternative." Gaylor said the program "offers irreverent views, news, music and interviews," including a regular news feature called "Theocracy Alert."

Smiling atheist Dan Barker who hosts Freethought Radio

Strange Fire on Defiled Altars

By John Lee Grady
Many who claim to be voices for God today are on dangerous ground.

We don’t talk much today about Nadab and Abihu. They were obscure Bible characters who failed miserably. Certainly their tragic story doesn’t work well as an illustration in the typical seeker-friendly sermon about wealth or success. So we tend to ignore these guys, even though they are mentioned in the Old Testament nine times.

Both sons of Aaron the priest, Nadab and Abihu were suddenly struck dead in the tabernacle because they offered “strange fire” (Lev. 10:1 NASB). We aren’t told exactly what they did wrong—that is left to our imagination. All we know is that they did not follow God’s specific instructions when offering incense. They were careless with His glory. Their mistake proved to be fatal.

“I wonder why the ground has not opened up and swallowed some of the careless spiritual clowns who are masquerading as bishops, apostles and prophets.”

What I deduce from their story is that God’s altar is a holy place. When God struck them, He told their father: “‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored’” (v. 3). God made it clear that He isn’t playing games. He sent fire from His presence to slay Nadab and Abihu so we would understand that we can’t mess around with His laws, His name or His presence. We can’t rewrite His instructions or be slipshod or slapdash about worship.

That’s why I fear for many of the men and women who claim to be God’s mouthpieces today, particularly in the charismatic/Pentecostal movement that I serve. When I read Leviticus 10, I wonder why the ground has not opened up and swallowed some of the careless spiritual clowns who are masquerading as bishops, apostles and prophets.

A case in point: Bishop Thomas Wesley Weeks III, who is now facing charges of assaulting his wife, recently stood in his pulpit in Atlanta during a marriage conference and proceeded to teach married couples how to use profanity during sex.

Yes, the man who allegedly kicked and punched Juanita Bynum in a hotel parking lot last month told attendees at a “Teach Me How to Love You” event that they should get over their hang-ups about cussing. The bedroom, he said, is the place to get down and dirty.

“Don’t bring your salvation into the bedroom,” he said in a sermon segment that has been posted on YouTube. “All those special words that you can’t say no more because you’re saved … save that for the bedroom!”

It is bad enough that Weeks told his followers that it’s OK to use filthy language with your wife during lovemaking. It’s worse that he said these things as a minister speaking from a pulpit during a church service. Thankfully he didn’t bring a bed on stage and give a demonstration—but now that he has taken pulpit crudity to a new level, someone else is sure to introduce Pentecostal porn to an audience somewhere.

Weeks’ comments didn’t surprise me. There are so many crazy things happening in pulpits in this country that I’ve become numb to their impact. It seems that in many segments of the church today, false prophets and backslidden preachers can introduce the most bizarre doctrines imaginable and still get shouts from the crowd and plenty of donations in the offering plate.

Meanwhile, a growing number of television preachers are resorting to the most inane tactics to raise money. A popular trend this year is the “Day of Atonement Offering”—in which Old Testament scriptures are strained to the breaking point to make a case for buying special blessings from God. Thanks to this “revelation,” you can click on a Web site icon and give your Day of Atonement Offering to win divine favor. (And of course every dime of that money goes to an evangelist who uses it to purchase houses, cars, plastic surgeries and more airtime so they can spread this nonsense to more naïve people.)

I have no personal vendetta against these spiritual hoodlums, but lately I find myself praying: “Lord, when will You clean up Your church? When will you send Your holy fire into the sanctuary? When will You turn over the tables of the moneychangers and drive the charlatans out of Your house?”

I have a sense that the answer is coming soon enough. The question is: How close to the modern Nadabs and Abihus will you be when the fire of heaven comes to purge them from the sanctuary? If you are anywhere near a defiled altar, my advice is simple: Run for the nearest exit.


J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.

Heretic

Over time, words rot. One word that has grown increasingly rotten is the word “evangelical.” In recent time, an evangelical can believe that God is still growing (Open Theism), that there is no hell (either annihilationism or universalism), that Paul did not have a concrete theology of justification (New Perspectivism or New Paulinism), that abortion is permissible (plain paganism), that homosexuality is laudable (hedonism) and that God’s love trumps his hatred for sin (idolatry).

I believe it is time to resurrect an old term – heretic. It has not been used nearly enough in our century. In an age of syncretistic pluralism, we are loathe to label Tony Campolo (who supports homosexuality and does not believe in an eternal hell), Joel Olsteen (who espouses a prosperity gospel gilded with Norman Vincent Peale positive thinking), Brian McClaren (who also does not believe in hell and who believes that you can be a fully justified Buddhist who loves Christ as if He were religious garnish), Benny Hinn (not a lot to be said) or Kenneth Copeland (even less to be said) heretics.

There is something missing in the current American expression of Christianity. The division between acceptable teachers and those that distort truth has become blurred. I guess that no one wants to be known for only those things (or people) that they stand against. In the paraphrased words of Ravi Zacharias, ‘He who slings mud loses lots of ground.’

I still find it somewhat tragic that there are no guides to help Christians discern between wolves and sheep. The greatest gift that my Baptist liberal arts education gave me was to help me pick the good writers out from among the sea of bad writers.

The word “heretic” is still powerful and has yet to lose its sting. I hope for its resurrection.

The Fall

There are many theories that vie to explain why man is sinful. Millard Erickson lists a few of these in his book, Christian Theology (600-613). Some believe that man is still animalistic and merely cannot help his low evolutionary development. Others believe that mankind’s finitude and ability to aspire to greatness compels humanity to overstep its bounds. Still others define sin within the liberation theology context of the oppression of the poor. The opinions are endless.

If one desires to truly understand sin, then one must return to the Fall. The Fall is in drastic need of recapture in the 21st century. Man’s ruin, like the ruins of the Roman empire, speak of unbelievable grandeur and beauty. Nonetheless, the decay of what was once mighty is clearly evident. It is within this century that the stagnation of man’s flower has come to full wither. The rise of sexual perversion, secularized European governments, post-Christian America, casual dalliances with promiscuity, eradication of ‘undesirable’ beings and the love of violence have been sanitized, institutionalized and placed on pedestals as virtues.

The nature of sin can only be explained through its historical origin. Genesis 3 must be taken literally if any portion of the Bible is to be taken literally. None of the elements that would signify that it is entirely symbolic or allegorical are present in this retelling. Though there is the presence of symbolism, it is presented in a literal framework. By references by Paul to this moment, one may garner that he believed it was an historical event (Romans 5:14, I Corinthians 15: 22, 45). The author Luke built Christ’s lineage on this fact of history in Luke 3:38. Like a domino in long line of dominos, to discount a literal Fall featuring the original, specially created human pair, one must also discount the rest of Biblical history which bears the same fingerprints of the supernatural, the same literary elements and the same attestation by Jewish and Christian historians.

Oddly enough the most vitriolic attacks upon a literal Genesis come from those that cite the empirical evidence of science. It is entirely ironic that the body of science has changed its mind countless times and rewritten the texts more times than may be counted. Yet the Bible has remained unchanged as promised (I Peter 1:25). When will the world realize that in all our scientific greatness, we are still children playing with the pebbles of the universe? This blindness is part of the nature of sin.

The historical Fall is the only religious diagnosis that makes sense of the human predicament. Philosophers of various religions have tried to tie all of humanity together as something profoundly good in its current state. The Bible clearly indicates that while Creation was originally good (Genesis 1:31), that now it has fallen into a state of disarray. It is only Scripture that illuminates why humanity is not good as some religions blindly insist.

How did we become bad? Two commonly accepted theories of transmitting sin from Adam to the human race are the “Natural headship of Adam” and the “Representative headship of Adam”. Natural headship posits that all humanity was biologically and spiritually within Adam when he rebelled. Therefore, all mankind was plunged into sin by this one act of rebellion (Romans 5:18, 19). Representative headship contends that Adam, as one who held dominion by God’s command (Genesis 1:28), acted on behalf of the entire human race (Arrington 140).

Adam and Eve, as mankind’s spiritual and physical fore bearers, represented mankind in a legal and perhaps seminal sense before God. Prior to the Fall, Adam and Eve appear to have been in a state of untested innocence or righteousness. Sin did not begin with an act, but with a thought or mindset that established itself apart from God (Genesis 3:1-6).

It is important to one’s thinking to understand that the foundation of sin is not merely the enactment of evil, but the thoughts and nature of mankind. Romans 5:12 envelops all of humanity in the original sin of Adam;

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned - for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.

Paul pointedly argues that the sin he is talking of does not involve the breaking of a law. Sin is not just an act.

In Genesis 3, Satan tempts Adam and Eve on multiple levels. One of the areas that he attacks is their sense of justice. He implies that God has misled them. Rising from this sense of injustice, Adam and Eve began to rationalize their behavior. Satan’s lie freed them to obey their more prurient desires. They felt that they could legitimatize their willful disobedience. Sin appears to follow a pattern of human expression that was first set in the Garden of Eden.

Satan also inspires a sense of independence. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Man began to move from his created order in existence to plotting his own destiny. In the words of William Earnest Henley in his poem “Invictus,”

Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul…

It matters not how strait the gate
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul (qtd. in Erickson 492)

Man’s decision to leave God may not be blamed by entrapment, Satan’s wiles, or his cunning. If Adam and Eve did not have these desires rage within them, they never would have fallen. Man is solely responsible for his fate.

Nor is God responsible for allowing this moment to come to fruition. Adam was created as a masterpiece and the center of Gods creation. To have stripped Adam of the ability to respond to God in a free fashion would have marred the Creator’s creativity and the perfection of His work. The offer of sin when man was not fallen implies that Adam and Eve had free will prior to the Fall. James in James 1:13 absolves God of any wrongdoing by reflecting on His nature. “God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one.”

Other religions, such as the Latter Day Saints leave God solely responsible for evil. Once, upon dialoguing with Mormon missionaries, we broached the subject of the Mormon interpretation of Genesis. In their view, God gave man two conflicting covenants which made it necessary for man to break one of them in order to please God. In Mormon theology, man had to either multiply the earth and subdue it, or he must not eat of the Tree of Good and Evil. If the first man had not eaten of the Tree, he would have sinned since he could not produce children to multiple until sin entered the world (a peculiar doctrine of Mormonism). If he ate of the Tree, which he did, he would also sin. God forced man to sin. Evangelical and Mormon may at least agree on this point, that sin brought death and destruction into the world. Mormon’s, however, must make God fully accountable for death, rape, incest, murder, stealing, lying and genocide. It is only in Christianity that God is fully absolved of the charge of bringing both physical and moral evil into the world. The brunt or responsibility in Christian theology falls fully on man.

The nature of sin is such that man stands at the epicenter of its heinous intrusion into God’s perfect creation. In Genesis 1:31, God saw His creation and called it very good. Man is responsible for the inception of incest, murder, rape, thievery, and lying. It is interesting to note that the Serpent’s and Eve’s curses were specifically upon their offspring or future generations (3:14-16). Since Satan has no physical offspring and demons are not known to procreate, we should probably see this statement in the light of Christ’s words in John 8:44 where he identifies Satan’s spiritual offspring. This is one of the impacts of sin upon humanity; that there is a struggle between the righteous offspring of Eve and the evil offspring of Satan. Ultimately, this battle would culminate in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ per the message of the Protoevangelium (3:15).

Woman’s curse includes brokenness in her two greatest domains; the life of her children and her relationship with her husband (3:16). Childbearing is characterized by pain. One might expand this to also encompass mother-children relationships after birth since these are often painful, but this would likely be an unfounded stretch.

A woman’s longing for her husband will be intense. Any conflict in the relationship will be magnified due to God’s curse. Harsh, dictatorial husbands will partially define the curse upon women as roles between husband and wife will be murky and in turmoil.

The curse specifically spoken to Adam is tied to the created order. Genesis 3:17-19 is a curse of futility. Once, man’s labor would be fulfilling and productive. Evermore it was to be filled with failure and ultimately swallowed by the despair of death that erases all toil, deeds, and memory. Man is a desperate creature whose stress and anxiety erupt in the books of Job and Ecclesiastes. It is here that his alienation from God boils over into despair.

God’s greatest and most wounding curse is upon man’s relationship with God. Without instruction, without guidance, and without feelings of eternal worth, unsaved humanity now stands as an island. Haunted by divinely given capacities to understand eternity and by loneliness in the vastness of God’s creation, humanity throws itself into fulfilling its insatiable needs. Isaiah recognized that sin separates. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

Mankind is not only alienated from God, but men and women are alienated from one another. This bore itself all too quickly in the Genesis account as Cain murdered Abel and Lamech boasted of killing a man for a slight offense (Genesis 4). The common brotherhood of man, if it ever existed, was quickly extinguished after the Fall. Human interaction is marked by strife and communication failures. Even husbands and wives find unity to be a challenge, as was mentioned previously concerning the curse on Eve.

Humanity’s mire in sin is chronicled in Romans 1 through 3. Romans 1:20-21 tells us that man is thoroughly aware of God’s general revelation concerning Him. Verse 28 states that mankind discards the truth. The last regression is that people know the truth and willingly embrace error (vs. 32).

Underlining that sin seeks substitutes to fill the God-given desires, Romans 1 is a profound statement on the nature of fallen mankind. While God has provided natural means for satiating human desires, man, in alienation from God, endeavors to meet those desires with things that never satisfy. Human sexuality was intended to be satisfied in marriage. God Himself intended to fulfill human spirituality and intellectual curiosity. It is the nature of sinful man to find counterfeits or substitutes for God’s good things.

Sin’s impact on humanity is immeasurable. Businesses attempt to cure its effects, feed its longings and address its consequences. Mankind lives as if this were normal. But in bitter times, the sense of oughtness that permeates dire situations awakens men’s consciences to the way things should be. If death, destruction and moral depravity are normal, why do they cause such a tumult in the human soul? If God used these as his agencies of creation or if there is no God, then why are they not embraced and accepted?

Language has grappled to explain the nature of sin and its impact. The Greeks were not satisfied with just a few words for it as they tried to capture several of its nuances. An exploration of the pertinent terms is useful.

· adikia – The opposite of righteousness. To commit injustice, deal unjustly, a wrong. The concept of adikia is tied to legal considerations. It may reference particular crimes. This word captures the concept that sin is not an individual domain, but that it actually impacts the community as well. In the Old Testament, the community was seen as the preserver of justice, so a sin against justice was also against the community as a whole (Brown 573-576).
· hamartia – To sin, to transgress. In classical literature, it means to miss the mark, to lose, to not share in something or to be mistaken. It was used in this period to describe anything that was not part of the accepted social order. In the Old Testament, the word was used to describe a conscious deviation from the right direction. Here sin is thought of as a breach of the covenants. The New Testament uses this word to describe man’s sins that are against God (577-583).
· parabasis – To go aside, to turn aside, transgress. By its use in Homer and onwards in history, its meaning was centered on a deviation from the original and true direction. It was sometimes used in the sense of an obligation or debt that was not kept. This word was not common in the Septuagint, but it meant to neglect God, to transgress the covenant or to become lax in the maintenance of one’s relationship with God. In the New Testament, it is used of Judas who abandoned his discipleship. In the Pauline writings, it is used to speak of transgressing the law in the context of the Jewish theology of the law (583-585).
· paraptoma – To fall beside, go astray, err, trespass, to step falsely. In classical literature it referred to an excusable error. In the Septuagint, it was used to translate six different Hebrew words that encompass the idea of conscious transgression, not merely accidents. It is only used in the verb form in the New Testament in Hebrews 6:6 where the meaning seems to be that of ‘falling away’. This is the deliberate rejection of the Christian faith. The noun is used in Matthew to speak of actions that result in man falling from the position God gave him (585-586).
· asebeia – Ungodliness. This word means that one is unlike God (Arrington 126).

The range of meaning for all of the words used for sin demonstrates both its individual and corporate effect. Sin can result in the personal loss of position and relationship with God. It may also speak of the community’s deviation from God. In general, sin misses God’s intended purpose in an individual’s life. The true deviation begins when a person fails to maintain their proper relationship with God. This was true of Adam and Eve and is true of all sinning humanity today.

An important question is whether man is a sinner because he personally sins or if he is a sinner through some sort of imputed or adopted inner nature. The Bible appears to clearly indicate that man is a sinner by nature, not labor. The ancient heretic Pelagius believed that every individual that enters the world is innocent by nature (Lewis 184). David, in the Psalms, states that a human’s entrance to the world already bears the taint of sinfulness (58:3). Evil men are evil even from the womb. As to his own entrance into the world, David writes in the Psalm 51:5 that he bore some of this taint from the moment of conception. Some have unwisely tried to interpret this passage to mean that David was saying that the actual act of conception was sinful, but this is unfounded by the text.

Various groups have battled over whether man has a sin nature or how that nature impacts mankind. The Socinians of the sixteenth-century denied original sin, any inheritance of depravity and even that sin was punishable by death. Roman Catholics adhere to the idea in A New Catechism that the Fall was not a historic event and that mankind did not become “depraved and guilty as a result of Adam’s sin.” Individuals are not condemned for Adam’s transgressions, but ratify his transgressions by their own personal acts of sin. Arminians either believe in a general preventing grace that covers Adam’s transgression so that people are only responsible for their own personal sins, or that the inheritance of a sin nature only encompasses a predisposition to sin, not actual sin or condemnation. (Lewis 184-188).

Counter to these ideas are the thoughts of John Calvin. Calvin defined original sin as “a hereditary depravity and corruption of our nature, diffused into all parts of the soul, which first makes us liable to God’s wrath, then also brings forth in us those works which Scripture calls ‘works of the flesh’ ” (George 214). While denying the idea that the sin nature is biologically inherited from Adam, Calvin believed that God had ordained that all men should possess a sin nature (215). Viewing sin as all pervasive, Calvin saw inner awareness of sin as a necessary step in salvation. “No one is permitted to receive God’s blessing unless he is consumed with the awareness of his poverty” (216).

Scripture affirms that mankind has a sin nature that has been inherited from Adam. Many have taken umbrage to this since they believe that it implies that people do not bear personal responsibility for their sins if the inheritance of it is beyond their control. R.C. Sproul writes, “In protest we want to say, ‘No damnation without representation’” (Sproul 149). Karl Barth believed that the story of the Fall was a saga that recounts the fall that every human being individually makes at some point. He objected to the idea that sin was passed like a disease from person to person. Brunner concluded that the universality of sin was due to humanity’s finite limitations. He refused to recognize sin as a state, but only as an act (Lewis 189).

What one applies to the Fall, they should also apply to redemption. To take offense with the position that all sinned in Adam and have inherited his sin and guilt, one should also take offense that Christ died and lived a righteous life so that all men might live. If representation is a bad thing in one instance, it should be a bad thing in other instances.

The fact of the matter is that to be human means to be fallen. Mankind can no more break from Adam than to declare that they are no longer part of the human kind. If humanity inherited Adam’s physical nature, the joy of living, the fullness of creativity, the bounty of his intellectual capacities, and the full range of his emotions, one should not feel tricked by also inheriting his baser characteristics. Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology states that, “This inherited tendency to sin does not mean that human beings are all as bad as they could be. The constrains of civil law, the expectations of family…all provide restraining influences on the sinful tendencies of our hearts” (Grudem 496).

In their original state, Adam and Eve could respond to God. They walked with him in the Garden and freely conversed with Him. At the moment of their sinfulness, however, this interaction was marred and broken. God had to search for Adam and Eve to initiate communication. After the Fall, Adam and Eve did not even want to respond to God. The result of their experimentation with sin culminated in their banishment from His presence in the Garden (Genesis 3).

Can a man or woman freely respond to God today under his or her own willpower? That question is fraught with difficulty. Humanity certainly does not move in this direction easily. Christ said to the people of Jerusalem, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37). Even with the most persuasive representation of God’s mercy, people were not moved.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke, the rich man entreated Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers in the hope that they would avoid his fate. Abraham responded that if one was not persuaded by the testimony of Moses and the prophets, that they would not even respond to one raised from the dead (16:31). The redemption of man is not an easy thing.

The question really encircles how bad mankind really is. Did sin merely wound a man’s ability to communicate with God or has he been rendered utterly without illumination? Timothy George reflects on Martin Luther’s opinion of this matter in his book, Theology of the Reformers. In his words:

One of Luther’s complaints against the “pig theologians” was their thesis that the human will of its own volition could actually love God above all things, or, that by doing one’s best even apart from grace one could earn a certain standing before God. To this optimistic appraisal of human potential Luther opposed a stark contrast between nature and grace. “Grace puts God in the place of everything else it sees, and prefers him to itself, but nature puts itself in the place of everything, and even in the place of God, and seeks only its own and not what is God’s.” By “nature” Luther did not mean simply the created realm, but rather the fallen, created realm, and particularly the fallen human will which is “curved in on itself” (incurvatus in se), “enslaved,” and tainted with evil in all of its actions. At the Heidelberg Disputation in 1518, Luther defended the thesis: “Free will after the Fall exists only in name, and as long as one ‘does what in one lies,’ one is committing mortal sin” (George 75)

Luther viewed mankind as damaged beyond human repair in relating to God. Per George, however, Luther never denied that free will retained its power in matters outside of salvation (75).

There are many verses that speak of men responding to God. Peter exhorts the people in Acts 3:19 to “turn to God”. Paul tells the Ephesian elders of his ministry that directed Jews and Gentiles to “turn to God in repentance”. In the quote of the Old Testament in Romans 4:1, Paul writes that Abraham “believed” God. Mark 9:24 is a synergistic passage where the demon possessed boy’s father affirms his belief and asks Jesus to aid his remaining unbelief.

It is worth noting that mankind must respond to God in belief, but how does mankind arrive at that wonderful moment? Even at the great confession of Peter regarding who Christ was, Christ replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). In John 6:44, Christ states that no one comes to him without first being called by the Father. John 3: 7 and 8 would seem to indicate that the Holy Spirit brings the new birth according to His own will. In the words of Romans 8:29,

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

God’s foreknowledge and calling predate a person’s response in our space-time reality.

There are also many verses that speak to the question of man’s bondage. Paul refers to sin as a prison in Romans 7:23. The bondage is so great that the whole world is a prisoner of sin (Galatians 3:22). Slavery is probably the best description of man’s relationship with sin (John 8:34, Romans 7:14). A person cannot consistently choose to do anything that is right. There is always some hidden taint even in the best products of a human being’s intentions. Often when reading the words of Paul in Romans 7:24, one may feel the anguish of his words and feel the desperation. “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

Ephesians 4:18 addresses the inner darkness of unredeemed man’s soul. He is cut off from understanding. His mind has been shut off to the revelation of God’s mercy. The writer of 2 Corinthians 4:4 proclaims that men’s minds are purposefully clouded by the evil one. There is an evil power that desires to keep mankind veiled in shadow. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus states that the devil steals the word from people’s hearts so that they cannot believe (Luke 8:12). Satan’s intent is to obscure the very face of God and to redirect lost mankind to other diversions. This alone would make a free response by fallen man to God difficult.

Not only is mankind troubled by demons without, but also by the rebellious nature within. Isaiah certainly realized this when he was ushered into the presence of the Lord and cried woe upon himself (Isaiah 6:5). Paul journalizes in Romans 7 his own personal fight with sin. Struggling with desires to do both good and evil is a plight that even redeemed men must face. In particular, Romans 7:8 states “But sin taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire.” Picturing sin as a restless entity, Paul writes that sin actually produced inner evil desires. Here sin is not seen as an act, but as a driving inner force of evil. Verse 23 strengthens the idea that there is an active sin nature.

Unregenerate man’s ability to understand God’s revelation has also been severely damaged. Paul writes that men are “dead” in their sins (Ephesians 2:1). We should be cautious not to construe death as total destruction, but as separation from God (Geisler 540). Unredeemed man is capable of understanding God’s revelation, but he disdains it (Romans 1:28). In the paraphrased words of I Corinthians 2:14, the word of God is “spiritually discerned” by someone who has the Holy Spirit in their hearts. To the un-spirited man, the word of God is foolish.

In our sinful state, God cannot accept us. Every part of our being has been effected by the blight of sin. Nothing good dwells in man (Romans 7:18). Human hearts are full of deceit (Jeremiah 17:9). Habbakuk wrote that “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong” (1:13). Our decrepit nature bars us from entering into God’s presence.

Has man any power to turn to God in faith and repentance on his own? Even as a redeemed man, Paul apparently felt the gravity of the struggle with the sin nature. The answer that Paul supplies for his own query is a fantastic one. “Jesus Christ our Lord” is utterly capable of meeting our needs in struggle.

However, for the unsaved man who faces a spiritual foe, who has his own mind darkened, who is fettered by sin and who has inherited a natural disposition to sin, what may be said of his power to come to God? Paul’s Romans 9 sheds light on the human condition before God. In this context, Paul is discussing the apostasy of the Jewish people from the Lord. Paul is heartbroken over his people and earnestly desires their salvation. In order to make his point, Paul directs his reader’s attention to the story of Jacob and Esau. Even before he was born, Jacob was considered “elect” in the eyes of God. ‘What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” ‘ (vs. 14-15).

The sin nature has a grip on the heart of humanity that God sovereignly breaks so that His people might spend eternity with Him. It does not appear that man has the power to freely turn to God in faith and repentance on his own power. Man has tremendous freedom in expressing his sinful nature while in the unregenerate state, but his choices for God are severely curtailed. Like Adam and Eve in their untested righteousness, Christians have been freed to exercise faith and repentance.

Understanding that every human being has a sin nature should have an impact on how Christians understand their world. First, Christians should never place ultimate trust in another human being. Only God has proved trustworthy. This should not drive the Christian into skepticism about all relationships, but it should blanket them from blindly following others or from entrusting too much confidence in their leadership. Second, Christians should be not be amazed when sin happens even in the lives of those who are well respected. Sin is the common denominator of our broken world. Third, forgiveness should be given swiftly and without reticence. Fourth, evangelism should be undertaken with the understanding that our obstacles are great, but our God is greater.

Sin literally cracked the world, breaking asunder the earth, relationships, the beauty of God’s original creation, and the nature of man. To be human means to be sinful. To be alive in the earthly realm means that we navigate a broken world. Sin is a horrible blight, but as bad as it is, it has not snuffed out the awesome beauty of God’s craftsmanship. Mankind is the marvel of all that God created. Even after the Fall, the psalmist is still able to express the wonder of being human.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth (Romans 8:1-9)!

The nature of sin is unavoidable and it effects are dire, but these were not left without a remedy. In the reworked words of William Earnest Hensley,

Out of the morning that bathes me
Bright as the sun from pole to pole
I thank the God of calvary
For my unconquerable soul

It matters now how strait the gate
How charged with punishments the scroll
He is the master of my fate
He is the captain of my soul!

Congratulations to the Daniels Family

My wife and I recently attended a party to celebrate the 85th and 90th birthdays of my grandmother and grandfather (respectively). It was a beautiful occasion to see all of the generations of the family present to honor them. Due to my grandparents' committment to Christ, many of their progeny are heaven bound.

Evolutionary Musings

Paradigms shift all of the time. Hundreds of years ago, it was the common consensus that the solar system revolved around the earth. The science textbooks changed and a new paradigm entered the scene. The beliefs of science are in constant flux. If the world lasts, a thousand years from now, our progeny will scorn our shallow understanding of the world. Compared to eternity future, we are but still at the beginning, playing with the dust and pebbles of the universe while thinking we are doing something grand.

Evolution is a paradigm that is in grievous trouble.

Fred Hoyle of the British Academy of Science and mathematician Chandra Wickramasinghe decided to calculate the probability of life coming into existence anywhere in the universe. Their results? Utterly impossible. They gave it all the time in the universe, but time plus chance produces nothing!

Francis Crick, Noble Prize winner for his discovery of DNA, also attempted to calculate the probability that life sprang into existence spontaneously. His results? Utter impossible. Instead of jumping into the arms of God, Crick decided to propagate the theory of genetic panspermia. In sum, his theory propounded that life on earth was seeded by benevolent and mighty aliens. Their work made life possible through the path of evolution. The problem? Crick merely delayed the impossible, casting it back on a continuous regression of aliens.

Stephen J. Gould, one of the greatest defenders of evolution, was also troubled by issues that he saw within evolution. As a result, he came up with the theory of punctuated equilibrium. He postulated that there were sudden leaps in evolution that left no transitional forms. If only he had made one massive leap, he would have ended up where theists are today.

Are these the actions of men that believe that the evolutionary paradigm is secure?

While the defenders of evolution are resorting to new and stunning conjecture to cover the nakedness of evolution, intelligent design has been seeking to topple the entire infrastructure.

The simple design of a mousetrap is irreducibly complex, no one part of the mousetrap makes sense without all of the other pieces. The evolution of a species or a single organ is also irreducibly complex. Take for example the eye. The eye is composed of mechanisms that are entirely reliant upon one another for the eye to function at all. If evolution is true, each part of the eye evolved over time and accrued in aggregate form. Unfortunately, the individual parts of the eye do not promote the survivability of the animal. They may actually impede its survivability. Over millions of years, the evolutionist would have us believe that the portions of the eye accrued until we had a complete and functional organ.

Another stake in the heart of evolution is the absence of transitional forms. Darwin predicted that this would be the downfall of his theory. Nothing has been found. Frauds have been created such as Piltdown man, Java man and a host of other oddities found to be made out of bits of extinct pigs, apes, etc., but nothing definitive has been offered to support the claims of evolution. If nothing else, our excavations should lead us to conclude that life was more complex and varied in the past than it is at present. This concurs with the concept of entropy.

The third law of thermodynamics is at odds with evolution. Time and chance lead to a loss of genetic information, the accretion of deleterious and deadly mutations. Per the evolutionary model, the very environment that may have produced the earliest protein chain is the same environment that would wipe it out in the next second. Life and entropy teach us that life is fragile.

The fossil record has yielded no evidence for evolution. Fossil beds contain a mixture of species and life forms from supposedly different evolutionary eras all at the same level of excavation. The geological column, which is purported to have taken millions of years to form, is riddled with issues. Dozens of museums have fish and other creatures that are tipped on end in the column. These fossils, know as polystratigraphic fossils, pass through millions of years of evolutionary deposition and sedimentation. How could a fish stand on end over millions of years while it was covered by sedminent? Evolutionists recognize these as “mysteries”.

I’m not attempting to be exhaustive with this list of problems, but the list goes on forever!

If evolution is true, there is no meaning or purpose to the world. We are merely spinning out our days on a not-so-extraordinary speck in the universe. Everything is chemically driven and determined. My love for my spouse has nothing noble within it. I’m merely driven by my biological urges to secure a mate that will perpetuate the species. Emotions over the death of my father are merely a chemically induced warning to avoid those things that limit my survivability. The only drive is sexual, the only moral is survival and there is no answer for anything.

"Nature is red in tooth and claw" is the summation of the evolutionary virtue. By bloodshed the fittest survive, but to what end? Morals are irrelevant. To push an old lady into oncoming traffic or to help her across the street are of equal value; both are meaningless. One might even argue that pushing the old lady into the street opens an ecological niche for a contributing member of the species. As one geneticist one argued with me, adultery and fornication are evolutionary values. They create genetic diversity.

Several scientists have recognized the problem in not having a center upon which to build society, ethics and morals. They have embraced the creation of what they call a “Noble Lie”; the creation of a belief system akin to Christianity. Let us create something to believe in that will allow us to continue our meaningless, mediocre existence. In the end, is it not still a lie?

In a world that is merely a cosmic accident, does even science have any meaning? Is it not merely a search without purpose and a quest without answers? Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Retrospective - The 2006 Congressional Elections

Some have recently heralded the Republican loss of the House and Senate as a day of gloom and doom. I'm actually fairly upbeat about the whole matter.

The Republicans, who did not live or govern by their campaign promises to protect life, lower taxes, preserve religious liberty, and to create an administration above scandal, have been swept from office. In their place, we have a much more honest bunch. At least the new group tells us up front that they support homosexual marriage, sex education for pre-schoolers, abortion on demand and a litany of other issues. Down with the apathetic Republicans!

As a life long conservative, I long for a stable and righeous government led by men and women of integrity. In the absence of Christ, who alone will provide this government, I must be solaced by being governed by short-sighted, prone to failure, fallible men and women. Cleaning out Congress was exactly what was needed. When the short-sighted, prone to failure and fallible men and women prove their inability to keep their promises, I should not have to convince myself to vote for them every election season.

Perhaps this will provide the much needed wake up call for the Republicans to heed their conservative base. If not, the Republicans are guaranteed to continue to lose elections.

Whatever may happen, the Bible tells us that we deserve the Democrats...

"Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities. For there is no authority but of God; the authorities that exist are ordained by God" (Romans 13:1).

The Man from George Street

Author - An Evangelist whose name is not so important as the true story...

This all started a number of years ago in a Baptist church in Crystal Palace in South London, England. The Sunday morning service was closing and a man stood up at the back and raised his hand and said: "Excuse me pastor can I share a short testimony?" The pastor looked at his watch and said, "You have three minutes". The man proceeded with his story: "I've just moved into this area. I used to live in Sydney, Australia. Just a few months back I was visiting some relatives and I was walking down George Street. You know where George Street is in Sydney going from the Business Area out to the Rock the colonial area. A strange little white haired man stepped out from a shop doorway, put a pamphlet in my hand and said: "Excuse me sir, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?" "I was astounded by these words. No one had ever asked me that. I thanked him courteously and all the way home to London this puzzled me. I called a friend and thank God he was a Christian and he led me to Christ." The Baptists love testimonies like that. Everyone applauded and welcomed him into their fellowship.

The Baptist pastor flew to Adelaide, Australia the next week and 10 days later in the middle of a three day series in a Baptist church in Adelaide, a woman came up to him for some counselling. He wanted to establish where she stood with Christ. He said "I used to live in Sydney and just a couple of months back I was visiting some friends in Sydney doing some last minute shopping down George Street. A strange little white haired man stepped out of a shop doorway and offered me a pamphlet and said "Excuse me madam, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?" "I was disturbed by those words. When I got home to Adelaide, I knew this Baptist church was on the next block form me. I sought out the pastor and he led me to Christ. So I am telling you that I am a Christian."

The London pastor was now very puzzled. Twice in two weeks he had heard the same testimony. He then flew to preach in the Mount Pleasant Church in Perth. When his teaching series was over the senior elder of that Church took him out for a meal and he asked the elder how he got saved. "I grew up in this church from the age of 15. I never made a commitment to Jesus, just hopped on the bandwagon like everyone else. Because of my business ability grew up to a place of influence. I was on a business trip to Sydney just three years ago. An obnoxious spiteful little man stepped out of a shop doorway, offered me a religious pamphlet cheap junk and accosted me with a question: "Excuse me sir, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?" I tried to tell him I was a Baptist elder. He wouldn't listen to me. I was seething with anger all the way home from Sydney to Perth. I told my pastor, thinking that he would sympathize, but he agreed. He had been disturbed for years knowing that I didn't have a relationship with Jesus, and he was right. My pastor led me to Jesus just three years ago."

The London preacher flew home and was soon speaking at the Keswick conventions in the Lake District and he threw in these three testimonies. At the close of this teaching series, fours elderly pastors came up and explained that they too had been saved between 25 and 30 years earlier through that same little man on George Street, offering them a pamphlet and asking that same question. The following week he flew to a similar Keswick convention in the Caribbean to missionaries. He shared the same testimonies. At the close of his teaching three missionaries came forward and said that they had also had been saved between 15 and 25 years earlier by that same little man's testimony and asked us the same question on George Street in Sydney. Next he stopped in Atlanta, Georgia to speak at a Naval Chaplain convention. Here for three days he spoke to over 1000 Naval Chaplains. Afterwards the Chaplain General took him out for a meal and he asked the Chaplain how he became a Christian. "It was miraculous. I was a rating on a Naval battleship and I lived a reprobate life. We were doing exercises in the South Pacific and we docked at Sydney harbour for replenishments. We hit Kings Cross with a vengeance. I was blind drunk, got on the wrong bus and got off in George Street. As I got off the bus, I though I saw a ghost as this man jumped out in front of me, pushed a pamphlet in my hand and said "Sailor, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?" The fear of God hit me immediately. I was shocked sober, ran back to the ship and sought out the Chaplain. He led me to Christ. I soon began to prepare for the ministry under his guidance. I am now in charge of 1000 chaplains who are bent on soul winning today."

Six months later that London pastor flew to a conference for 5,000 Indian missionaries in a remote part of NE India. At the end the head missionary took him to his humble little home for a simple meal. He asked how he as a Hindu came to Christ. "I grew up in a very privileged position, I worked the Indian Diplomatic Mission and I travelled the world. I am so glad for the forgiveness of Christ and blood covering my sin. I would be very embarrassed if people found out what I got into. One period of diplomatic service took me to Sydney. I was doing some last minute shopping, laden with toys and clothes for my children. I was walking down George Street when a courteous white haired little man stepped out in front of me and offered me a pamphlet and said "Excuse me sir, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?" I thanked him very much but this disturbed me. I got back to my town, sought out our Hindu priest. He couldn't help me, but he advised me that to satisfy my curious mind, I should go and talk to the missionary in the mission home at the end of road. That was good advice because that day the missionary led me to Christ. I quit Hinduism immediately and began to prepare for ministry. I left the Diplomatic Service and here I am today, by God's grace in charge of all these missionaries who have together led 100,000 people to Christ.

Eight months later that London Pastor was preaching in Sydney. He asked the local Baptist Minister if he knew of a little elderly white haired man who handed out tracts on George Street. He replied "Yes is do, his name is Mr. Genor, although I don't think he does it any more because he is so frail and elderly." Two nights later they went to meet him in his little apartment. They knocked on the door and this tiny frail old man greeted them. He sat them down and made them tea. He was so frail that he was slopping the tea into the saucer as his hands shook. The London preacher sat there and told him of all these accounts from the previous three years. This little man sat with tears running down his cheeks. He told them his story. "I was a rating on an Australian warship. I was living a reprobate life. In a crisis I really hit the wall. One of my colleagues, to whom I gave literal hell, was there to help me. He led me to Jesus and the change in my life was night to day in 24 hours. I was so grateful to God; I promised God that I would share Jesus in a simple witness with at least 10 people a day. As God me strength I did that. Sometimes I was ill and couldn't do it, but I made up for the days I missed it at other times. I wasn't paranoid about it. I have done this for over 40 years. In my retirement years, the best place was on St. George Street where I saw hundreds of people a day. I got lots of rejections, but a lot of people courteously took the tract. In 40 years of doing this, I have never heard of one single person coming to Jesus until today."

You know, I would say that he has to be commitment. To show gratitude and love for Jesus to do that for 40 years and not hear of any results. That simple little non-charismatic Baptist man witnessed to perhaps 147,000 people. I think that God was showing that Baptist pastor from London was the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg. Goodness knows how many more had been arrested for Christ. Doing huge jobs out in the mission fields. Mr. Genor died two weeks later. Can you imagine the reward he went home to in Heaven?

I doubt his face would ever have appeared on Charisma Magazine. I doubt there would ever have been a photograph and a write up in Billy Graham's Decision magazine. No one except a little group of Baptists in Sydney knew about Mr. Genor, but I tell you his name was famous in Heaven. Heaven knew Mr. Genor and you can imagine the welcome and Red Carpet and the fanfare that he received when he went home to Glory.

A Long Hiatus

I've been absent from the blog world for some time. This is partly due to being weary of the world though joyful in my family after the passing of my father. An additional reason lies in my new position as Assistant Registrar of Wright State University. Neither reason should suffice for leaving a love. I've longed to write...

Secular Enslavement

One of my dear friends recently wrote me an e-mail concerning his life. Having recently graduated from a major Christian university as a preseminary major, he is seeking to find his place in the world.

He wrote of the grip of God compelling him to lose his life for Christ. Society is pulling him to get a good secular job, marry quickly and to settle down in secular serfdom. These two forces are causing him great confusion.

We who read the Scriptures know the truth once the cloud lifts; it is right to risk for Christ. He who wants to keep his fiancee, his wife, his children, his prosperity and his dignity will lose all of them.

There is a grand delusion that besets us. It is the delusion of personal peace and safety. It is our loving duty as brothers and sisters in Christ to strip away this facade of safet and expose the world as it really is. None know their momento mori. None know what awaits them at the end of the next car trip, in the early waking hours, in the moments of the daily grind. Man should not cling to the myth of safety. It does not exist.

What does exist is the grandeur and glory of God both now and forever. It is our purpose in life to make sure that God's glory is greater due to our short passage of time on earth. Bringing glory to God by being willing even to lose my life (never out of violence) shows that I seek and understand what is beyond this poor replica of God's true kingdom.

New Evangelism Opportunity

Over the last few weeks, Rob and I have had the wonderful opportunity to participate in street evangelism in the Short North and near the OSU Student Union. We have had fantastic conversations and been emboldened to speak to the eclectic people of Columbus' night life.

Here is another opportunity to more fully understand the grace of Christ:

Sunday, September 17, 2006
12:30 - 6:00
Downtown Gahanna Flea Market Day
Contact me at emissary@wowway.com for more details

Funeral Arrangements for Donald Daniels

Viewing
Faith Assembly of God Worship Center
2600 US Highway 40 NE (near juncture of 40 and 42)
London, Ohio 43140
http://www.mapquest.com

First viewing - Monday, August 21, 2006, 2:00-4:00
Second viewing - Monday, August 21, 2006, 6:00-8:00

Funeral
Faith Assembly of God Worship Center
2600 US Highway 40 NE (near juncture of 40 and 42)
London, Ohio 43140
http://www.mapquest.com

Service time - Tuesday, August 22, 2006, 11:00 am

Departure of Donald Daniels

On Thursday, August 17th, 2006, my father met his Savior. Details concerning his burial will be forthcoming.

My father was a righteous man. I loved him for his unswerving convictions, his passionate servant-love for me and for his unshakeable confidence in Jesus Christ. He taught me how to be a man and he set an example that I can only aspire to emulate. My deepest regret is that my sons will not have the blessing of his wisdom or witness the strength of his passion.

For the best of fathers, I praise God. To have the intellectual fire, the warmth of his embrace and his presence was a tremendous blessing. His immortal soul is now with Christ where his true talents and service before God may begin.

Invitation for Street Evangelism

A number of years ago, a story came out of England about a woman who was walking next to a river with her young daughter. The child got too close to the edge and slid into the water. The mother who could not swim watched in dread as her daughter drowned right before her very eyes. During the subsequent investigation, it was found that the water was only two feet deep. We are like that woman! The fear of man keeps us from wading into the will of God. The waters are not treacherous! God has encouraged us to plunge in.

II Corinthians 5:18-21 states

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

With some fear, but taking to heart the message of reconciliation, Emissary has taken to the streets of Columbus. During a recent outing, we started at the topiary gardens behind the Columbus Metropolitan Library, moved to the area around Franklin University and concluded our time in the Bottoms. We encountered blue collar, white collar, black power, rainbow power and a myriad of other people groups.

While at the Donatos Pizza next to Franklin University, Rob talked to an extremely handsome, British man. He listened to Rob until he came to the issue of lust. When Rob asked, “Have you ever lusted in your heart after someone of the opposite sex?” the gentlemen replied that he looked at the “other tree.” Predictably, he did not believe that his lifestyle was sinful. He was merely pursuing his natural instincts. Rob addressed the nature of sin and encouraged the man to consider the sacrifice of Christ. We parted amicably, and upon watching the man leave, we noted the advertisement on the side of his truck; English Elegaynce Landscaping, German Village.

It is a great tragedy if someone misses an eternity with Christ because we never witnessed. But the tragedy grows far deeper for you if you do not witness. Philemon 6 states this, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Do you know that if you are not sharing your faith, you are missing a “full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ?” This knowledge cannot be found in the next life since we cannot witness in heaven.

Here are a few opportunities to reach a fuller understanding of God through evangelism:

Short North, August 11, 2006 from 9:00 pm to 12:00 pm

The Bottoms, August 19, 2006 (Time TBA)

If you are interested in either opportunity, please contact me via emissary@wowway.com for additional details.

Review of Rob Bell and his work "Velvet Elvis"

Rob Bell is the founder of Mars Hill church in Michigan. His wildly popular church of 10,000 (composed almost entirely of card shifters) and his writings have garnered him wide attention.

He is attempting to re-envision the church. Unfortunately, most heresy is grounded in trying to add a guest wing to God's Church.

As a postmodern and Emergent Church member, Rob Bell is repaving the errors of America's theological liberalism. It is quite amusing that so many people think he is creative and pioneering. Take a peek at the Alliance of Confessing Evangelical's review at Reformation 21. I think it says it all.